SAT Revamp Brings New Challenge to Test Prep in China

The revamp slated for spring 2016 is intended to make the exam more reflective of U.S. high-school work and require students to show critical-thinking skills by analyzing science and history texts. Photographer: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

March 28 (Bloomberg) -- A planned overhaul of the SAT is
fueling concern in Beijing classrooms and is set to pose a fresh
challenge for Chinese test-prep companies seeking techniques to
crack the admission test.

The revamp slated for spring 2016 is intended to make the
exam more reflective of U.S. high-school work and require
students to show critical-thinking skills by analyzing science
and history texts. The changes are causing anxiety for Chinese
applicants, who often rely on months of cramming at schools of
companies such as New Oriental Education & Technology Group Inc.

Close to a third of the 339,993 international undergraduate
students in the U.S. came from China during the 2012-2013 school
year, data from the Institute of International Education show.
Chinese prep classrooms have for years used detailed dissections
of prior exams, lengthy word lists and canned essays to help
even students with limited English fluency master the SAT. A
test demanding more critical thinking and analysis of English
texts may be harder to decode.

“Right now, Chinese test-prep companies teach the SAT the
way they do the gaokao -- by regurgitating information,” said
Tomer Rothschild, Beijing-based co-founder of consultancy Elite
Scholars of China, referring to China’s own college entrance
examination. “The changes will force them to rethink the way
they teach it.”

In the new version of the SAT that students will take in
two years, scoring will return to a maximum of 1,600 points for
math and evidence-based reading and writing, the College Board,
which administers the test, said March 5. The optional essay
will be scored separately. Most U.S. colleges require either
the SAT, or its competitor the ACT, to help determine admission
qualifications.

Total Analysis

“Chinese test-takers are much better at the math section,
while their scores on the critical reading and writing sections
remain very poor,” said Trudie Tejuan Li, center director for
the Princeton Review prep service in Shanghai, via e-mail.
“That is because critical thinking and analyzing skills are not
well-developed with current China educational systems.”

Beijing-based New Oriental is by far the largest of the
test-prep companies in China, outpacing local and international
competitors, estimates Wells Fargo Securities analyst Trace A.
Urdan.

American Classroom

New Oriental’s SAT topic page already has a dedicated
section discussing the new exam with videos titled “how to get
high points after the reform” and articles where New Oriental
teachers dissect the announced changes. In one video “VIP” SAT
instructor Zhao Jing urges students to “cherish” the original
guide that will be issued with the revamp.

“As it’s a new examination there won’t be many past
questions to refer to, so candidates need to make a total
analysis,” she says. “We’ll need to figure out the most common
test questions, build up a knowledge system and fix commonly
made mistakes.”

Students must keep building their vocabulary and expand
their reading to include scientific, social, and current affairs
essays to catch up with U.S. high schoolers, she says.

The website of Shinyway Education, another Chinese test-prep company, carries an article where four of its star teachers
comment on tackling the new SAT. Chinese aspirants may benefit
from some aspects, such as no longer having to memorize seldomly
used words, its Shanghai campus principal said in the article.

“On the other hand, the disadvantages for Chinese students
is that most test-takers haven’t experienced a real American
classroom and students may find the vocabulary and words that
arise in the test unfamiliar,” the principal said.

New Oriental and Shinyway didn’t respond to e-mailed
questions and phone calls.

Longer Classes

While test trainers worldwide may have to rethink
materials, prep drills are particularly important in China, the
largest supplier of international students to the U.S.

Catherine Kong, a 16-year-old student in Beijing, said the
SAT reforms shorten her prep time by half a year and that she
has to score perfect before spring 2016 or face the risk of
taking the new exam.

“Chinese students rely on training and memorizing to get
high scores,” said Kong. “The first year after the reforms,
New Oriental and other institutions most likely won’t have
templates and sample tests, so the people taking the test right
after the reform might be at a disadvantage.”

Only Children

In a culture where parents and students leave little to
chance, the uncertainty on the format is causing anxiety, said
F. David McCauley Jr., foreign director of college counseling
for Beijing’s prestigious No. 4 High School. The Princeton
Review has received many phone calls in China from people
concerned about the changes, Li said. It plans to have a new
global curriculum in place by the beginning of 2015.

China’s one-child policy increases pressure for students to
succeed, said Hamilton Gregg, an independent educational
consultant who’s been based in Beijing for more than a decade.

“There’s a perception that if their child doesn’t get into
a ’great’ university, they feel like they’ve failed,” said
Gregg. “It will be a family event to get money for test-prep
classes, to take the test, to go to university.”

China’s Ministry of Education prohibits administration of
SAT tests, among other foreign admission exams, to mainland
Chinese students inside the country, which means most students
must also pay for travel to places like Hong Kong or the U.S. to
take the test.

High Scores

The SAT is designed to measure college and career readiness
for all students, Kate Levin, a spokeswoman for the College
Board said via e-mail, without directly addressing a question on
whether foreign students were taken into consideration for the
new blueprint. Top Chinese students are likely to continue to
get high scores even in the new system, said Rothschild, the
consultant.

While the standard prep class in the U.S. is around 25 to
30 hours, classes in China from companies such as New Oriental
could be between 150 to 200 hours, according to Rothschild.

New Oriental’s prices are higher than domestic competitors
and it generates about $800 to $1,000 a student each quarter for
preparation across a range of tests including the GMAT and
TOEFL, Wells Fargo’s Urdan estimates.

Ultimately, the changes may be a boon for New Oriental as a
move away from memorization of SAT words to focus on context and
the ability to synthesize information could lead to more hours
in the classroom, said David Riedel, New York-based president of
Riedel Research Group Inc., who rates the stock a buy.

Student Rush

Also, there is likely to be a rush of students taking the
old test before the new one is introduced, said Rothschild.

New Oriental offers a range of test preparation courses and
had total sales of $959.9 million last fiscal year, data
compiled by Bloomberg show. SAT prep is likely less than 5
percent of its revenue, said Urdan. The rest comes from books
and other educational programs including language training,
other test courses, online, primary and secondary school
education, according to the Bloomberg data.

“This overhaul is going to make things harder for Chinese
applicants,” said Michael J. Novielli, Beijing-based co-founder
of Due West Education, which advises Chinese students on U.S.
admissions. “But it will give American colleges a much clearer
assessment of their performance.”